Intel core i3-2100 Vs Core i5-2500

The presence of the turbo boost,higher clock frequency, larger L3 Cache and more number of cores gives significant boost to Intel core i5-2500 with respect to core i3-2100. The table below captures the feature as well as performance difference between the two processor

Table : Intel core i3-2100 Vs Core i5-2500

SL. No.

Core i3-2100

Core i5-2500

Clock Frequency

3.1 GHz

3.3 GHz

Number of Cores

2

4

Passmark Score

3817

6454

Turbo Boost

None

3.7 GHz

Price

$117

$205

Number of (Hyper) Threads

4

4

TDP Rating

65 Watts

95 Watts

Smart Cache ( L3 Cache)

3 MB

6 MB

As is evident from the Passmark score the core i5-2500 takes significant lead over core i3-2100 in the performance.

The only question is whether the significantly higher price of core i5-2500 ( at $203, according to the Intel, at the time of writing), justified. The price of the i5-2300 is 1.75 times the price of i3-2100. If we rely upon the performance scores from Passmark, the performance of i5-2500 is 1.7 times that of the core i3-2100.

The two processors have therefore be comparatively priced. You need to decide if you need the processing power offered by the core i5-2500. The core i3-2100 is still fast by any standard for most of your home and office computing needs.